Suddenly enveloped in an embrace full of masculine scent, Jiang Churan's body first stiffened.
The fresh scent on Jiang Cheng's body from his recent bath and the warmth radiating from his chest made her heart, which had just calmed down, start to race again.
Especially his current posture, full of possessiveness and intimacy, made her feel a bit flustered, yet also filled with a secret joy.
Despite her stiffness, she maintained her posture with her head turned back, and even as Jiang Cheng's head leaned in, she proactively pressed her face against his and rubbed against it.
Jiang Cheng originally wanted a moment of tenderness, but seeing Jiang Churan trying to please him like this, he instantly became serious instead.
After ignoring her initiative, Jiang Cheng shifted his gaze to the screen of Jiang Churan's phone.
He asked again, "What did you order? I'm hungry."
Seeing that Jiang Cheng didn't respond to her, she turned her head away unnaturally and picked up the phone.
She tilted the screen toward Jiang Cheng: "I... I chose these few, see what you want to eat?"
Jiang Cheng pretended not to notice her discomfort.
He reached out to take her phone and immediately pulled away from Jiang Churan's body.
He casually added two more dishes and then handed the phone back to her.
He even stood up, walked over to the single sofa next to her, sat down, and started scrolling through his own phone, saying in a normal tone: "Let's go with this."
Seeing him actually start focusing on his phone, no longer looking at her, and not even saying an extra word, Jiang Churan's heart suddenly felt empty.
Wasn't Jiang Cheng very anxious last time when they were buying the house?
She had even half-reluctantly learned some oral techniques under Jiang Cheng's tutelage.
Why did Jiang Cheng seem to have no interest today?
Was it because she made him wait too long, so he lost interest?
She hesitated for a moment, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, and her voice carried an imperceptible hint of testing as she spoke as softly as a mosquito: "Then... I, I'll go take a shower first?"
After saying that, she quietly glanced at Jiang Cheng.
However, Jiang Cheng's gaze remained on his phone screen. He just casually, almost coldly, nodded and let out a simple syllable from his throat: "Mm, okay."
This "okay" was like a small pebble thrown into the center of a lake, sending ripples of disappointment through her heart.
No attempt to keep her, no anticipation, he didn't even look up.
An indescribable sense of grievance and self-doubt surged up, and she abruptly stood up from the sofa, rushing toward the room almost as if escaping in panic.
Seeing Jiang Churan enter the room, Jiang Cheng finally slowly raised his head, a smile of having everything under control curling at the corners of his mouth.
All along, his intentions toward Jiang Churan had been out in the open.
Although Jiang Churan didn't resist, because of this, many things had started to be taken for granted.
Whether male or female, occasional unexpected distance not only does no harm but can even give the other person a slight sense of crisis.
And with an occasional sense of crisis, the other person will focus more of their thoughts and attention on you.
A proper "cooling off" will only make the subsequent "boiling" even more intense.
As soon as Jiang Cheng opened his phone, he saw messages in the Security Team's small group chat.
When the system rewarded him with the Security Team before, it had reminded him.
His chat content with them was encrypted throughout; no one else could see it except for himself.
[Security Team Encrypted Channel]
Tianji: "@All Members, initiate the 'Scavenger' contingency plan. The termination target has been locked."
Jingang: "Locked onto a truck for 'fatigued driving.' Ensuring the truck driver does not die, meeting the 'accident' standard."
Shensuanzi: "Target (Mine Manager), background cleared. He has a distant nephew at the Shanxi mine, on the payroll but never goes into the shaft. Just got word that the nephew has 'voluntarily' applied to go down for training, and the mine has 'approved' it."
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng roughly knew the general process of this plan.
Previously in Xishan, there was a special group of workers who never went down the shafts to work.
However, as soon as they were deployed, there would definitely be an accident.
After reading it, Jiang Cheng replied with two words: Read.
After switching out of the Security Team's group messages, he opened Han Anning's wechat for the second time.
Han Anning: I just lost, aren't you afraid I'll follow through on the bet?
Clearly, this Girl was still brooding over the bet she had unilaterally made earlier.
Jiang Cheng: Whatever suits you.
Just as the message was sent, Han Anning's reply came back in a second.
Han Anning: What exactly do you mean? Am I some ugly Girl or some loose woman? You're just that indifferent??
Jiang Cheng smiled and shook his head, then started typing.
Jiang Cheng: "You're a good person, but unfortunately you want too much, and I can't give it to you."
On the other side of the screen, Han Anning exploded when she saw Jiang Cheng's reply.
What does he mean? Giving her a 'good person' card??
And what did she want?
She didn't lack houses or cars, and she didn't need Jiang Cheng to give her money.
Was proactively offering a kiss not enough??
Han Anning: "Stop pretending."
On the other side, Jerry and his group were taken by special service vehicles to an inconspicuous building on the outskirts of the city.
As soon as the car stopped, the door was pulled open. The cold-faced lead man glanced at them, his tone devoid of any emotion:
"Get out."
Sarah and the team members' hearts were in their throats, thinking a severe interrogation was about to begin.
However, the expected escorting didn't happen.
The lead man gave a look to the person beside him.
"Phones, and all other electronic devices," the lead man ordered succinctly.
After he said this, a technician took the items from a storage box placed on the ground.
With practiced movements, he connected each phone to a palm-sized black specialized device.
The indicator lights on the device flashed rapidly, and lines of code incomprehensible to ordinary people scrolled across the screen.
The whole process was suffocatingly quiet, with only the faint sound of the device running and occasional distant car horns.
In just a few minutes, the technician completed the operation, put the phones back into the storage box one by one, and then gave a barely perceptible nod to the lead man.
Only then did the lead man signal them to take the storage box away, his tone still flat: "Take your things, you can go."
This sudden release left everyone stunned.
Jerry was especially dazed.
What did this mean??
They were letting them go without even entering the doors of this building.
In an instant, the massive fear receded.
After the exhaustion of surviving a disaster, a sense of humiliated contempt and twisted relief welled up in his heart.
"Ha... Hahaha!" Jerry gave a few dry laughs and grabbed his phone, his pale face flushing with excitement. "Did you see that? They're afraid! They don't even have the guts to interrogate us!"
He waved his arms at his shaken teammates, his tone becoming arrogant: "I told you! As long as our family applies pressure, these paper tigers won't dare to touch us!"
Several people immediately bent down to pick up their phones.
They couldn't wait to unlock their screens, wanting to confirm something.
Jerry's fingers quickly swiped through his photo album and video library.
Seeing that the'seafood' photos he had stored were still there, he instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking further, he realized that all the videos regarding today's racing had completely vanished.
They weren't just deleted; even any possible backup synchronization records in the cloud had been wiped clean.
PS: I've had a high fever and the flu since yesterday. My whole body aches, and my head feels like it's going to explode. I can only lean against the bed with my phone and type a few words occasionally. Thank you to the readers who gave me tips and sent 'Power for Love.' I'll try to persist and update another chapter later...